Sugar synthesized from emissions

Scientists have recently announced the successful production of pure white sugar using methanol derived from industrial waste gases, a breakthrough that could reduce reliance on traditional sugar crops such as sugarcane and sugar beet.

The team, based at the Tianjin Institute of Industrial Biotechnology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, developed what they call a "molecular production line" to synthesize sucrose from carbon dioxide.

The process begins with "liquid sunlight" technology, previously pioneered by the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, which uses solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into methanol. In the laboratory, this methanol is broken down into formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is subsequently assembled into fundamental components such as glyceraldehyde through enzyme catalysis in a bio-reactor, which are further combined into fructose and glucose precursors.

Finally, these precursors are accurately linked to produce sucrose using customized sucrose synthase. In essence, this means synthesizing sucrose from carbon dioxide from scratch.

The team of scientists compared the entire process to a precisely operating industrial assembly line, describing it as a novel method of synthesizing sucrose not found in nature. Compared to natural synthesis pathways, this production line offers significant advantages in terms of reaction steps and energy consumption.

"First, the reaction steps and energy consumption are significantly reduced; by molecular modification of key enzymes in the pathway, catalytic efficiency is increased 70 times," said the research team from the Tianjin institute.

Traditional sugarcane and beet farming requires the use of substantial land and specific climate conditions, with increasingly prominent resource constraints.

The sucrose synthesis conversion rate has increased to 86 percent, with 14 grams of sucrose produced per liter of reaction liquid. As mentioned in the paper, a 10 cubic meter reactor, about the size of a truck compartment, could theoretically replace the annual sugar production of about 2 hectares of sugarcane fields.

Additionally, the team designed a self-circulating starch synthesis method based on the sucrose synthesis route, enabling the biological conversion of methanol into amylose without the need for primers.

This research, published in the international journal Science Bulletin in May, has recently garnered public attention.

According to the China Sugar Association, China consumes approximately 15 million metric tons of sucrose annually. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics show that domestic sugar production is about 10 million tons per year, meaning that roughly one-third of China's sugar consumption relies on imports. This breakthrough offers a new possibility for domestic sugar production.

"The significance of this research extends beyond the successful synthesis of sucrose; it has established an in vitro biotransformation platform that acts as a key to unlocking the door to the 'artificial sugar world'," read a statement on the Chinese Academy of Sciences' official website in July. "Using this platform, researchers have not only synthesized low molecular weight starch and functional sugar products like oligosaccharides but also achieved high product yields. These products have broad applications in the food and feed industries."

Wei Qianqian contributed to this story.